Religous Education in India means Islamic Education for Muslims, Bible Studies for Christians but Moral Education for Hindus!

Religious studies under (CBSE/other Indian Education Boards) implies Islamic Education for Muslims, Bible Studies for Christians but mere Moral Education for Hindus.

Why is it that in a country having a particular community as majority, the two minority communities have full rights to teach their religions and especially their religious books(Quran/Bible) to the young children of their religion in secular classrooms whereas the mere mention of religious studies for Hindus is frowned upon.

I am nowhere near advocating the application of rote and often forced learning of Hindu religious scriptures to young Hindu students as part of religious studies, as mandated by Muslims and to a lesser extent Christians for their respective religious texts; just that the future generation should at the very least have a basic idea of what Hinduism is all about. For example,

1) Though most Hindus know that Hinduism is at its base a monothestic religion advocating belief in a single Supreme being, with our myriad gods and godesses being mere manifestations of the same, we do not know how to effectively use this point to vocally counter the oft-repeated allegations by other religions that Hinduism is a religion of a billion different gods.

This is of particular relevance because I recently saw on youtube the speech of a young hindu to muslim convert Sruthi saying to the effect ‘My family taught me only that all religions are the same, to do the right thing but never what God is all about…….(progressing to)……..I am tired of Hinduism’s billion gods…how can there be more than 1 God…….(culminating in)……..idol worshippers……I want my parents and sister to convert too’.

The funny aspect in the whole thing was that the girl herself mentions her mother’s words when she first expressed her desire to convert to Islam: “All religions are the same.” Contrast this with the two Muslim mothers who strangled their own daughters for eloping with Hindus last year. Also pertinent was her mentioning how her Muslim friend first approached her ‘Think, use your sixth sense(intelligence), Is what your religion says all there is to God? Is it enough to just lead a simple pious life? Just praying once in a blue moon? etc’ Naturally she had no concrete answers. How many of our youngsters do if they were asked the same?

2) Comparative religion. Comparing and denigrating to various extent the so-called ‘obvious’ demerits of Hinduism (idolators, cow-worshippers, sati, billion gods, caste etc) is part of religious studies in both Islam and Christianity, no matter how moderate and liberal they might appear to be at the outset. By contrast, young hindus are thought practically nothing of their own religion, let alone comparitive studies of others religions. This in an age where madrassa certification has been accorded equivalence to secular CBSE certification.

3)With sincere respect and holding the same belief as Sruhi’s mother stated above, (“All religions are the same”); it is high time to call a spade a spade. Why is it that in this so-called nation of cow-worshippers, beef is available in almost all non-vegetarian hotels but pork is practically unheard of in the Indian menu.

4)The glossing over of atrocities committed by Mughal rulers in our History textbooks. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, can’t it be factually stated that the totality of mosques and churches destroyed by Hindus in entire Indian history is still less than the number of temples razed by one single Mughal ruler, Aurengazeb? Also, I was taught the Mapillah riots in Malabar was a part of anti-British agitation, that it was a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity against the imperialists.. Nowhere was it mentioned that they also resorted to forced conversions en masse(else die as usual), desecration of temples and idols including flinging of cow carcasses into temples, and that Hindu women even jumped into wells to avoid mass rape. Isn’t fair knowledge of the past the rights of Hindus too? How far must minority appeasement go?

 5) As you too very well understand, the blatant secularism= downgrade Hindus viewpoint held and strongly advocated by an overwhelming section of the media today. We are indirectly taught to be ashamed of our own religion and customs. When Hindus commit atrocities, whether real or perceived, on Muslims/ Christians, the entire media and pseudo-secularists rise as one to condemn it.  I have seen lots of sound-bytes accorded to Muslims not being allowed to rent apartments in several Hindu dominated areas of Mumbai(in The Hindu, NDTV etc). While this is certainly true in this particular case, it is not true for most of the Hindu dominated localities in India. Contrast this with the obvious fact that in most Muslim dominated areas throught India, members of other communities are overwhelmingly not welcome. That point was never even mentioned.
6) A Hindu atrocity is trumpeted by the pseudo-secularists in visual and print media to forward their credentials as the real representatives of secular India. A Muslim boy- Hindu girl marriage when opposed by Hindus is hailed as a cause-celebre by the media (Priyanka Todi and Rizwanur Rahman in West Bengal). Just googling either of their names alone gives even the casual reader sever hundred sites to glean information from, including wikipedia entries and information about candle-light vigils organised in honour of Rizwanur Rahman by several organisations, including Christian organisations and supported by Mamata Banerjee.
 
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071018/asp/calcutta/story_8448296.asp
http://www.heraldmalaysia.com/news/Church-leaders-welcome-probe-on-killing-5184-1-1.html                // “alleged?” killing??
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/arrest-todis-guilty-officers-mamata/282347
etc etc etc
 
Contrast this with the case of Dibankar Roy, again in the same West Bengal.. He was beaten and shot several times to death in broad daylight by members of an Islamist organisation for marrying a Muslim girl, without even asking her to convert. Strangely enough, googling his name alone reveals no relevant results. Google “Dibankar Roy killed” “dibankar roy hindu boy killed”- again no relevant results. Interesting, isn’t it?
One has to specifically search “hindu boy muslim girl dibankar” to find any news about the poor lad. No mass protests, no candle light vigils, no indignation by generationn-x youngsters in support of secular love,  no sound-bytes from politicians and more importantly, the so-called seculatrist media in his support, or at the very least, acknowledgement of his having ever existed.. In the largest democracy in the world, Rizwanur Rahman whose death is still not conclusively proven to be murder is a martyr, Dibankar Roy who was brutally murdered- beaten and shot to death in broad daylight is a ghost, alive in minor dailies and the pages of so-called hindu websites.
 
http://southbengalherald.blogspot.in/2012/12/hindu-man-marries-muslim-woman-shot.html
http://hindusamhati.blogspot.in/2012/12/hindu-bride-groom-is-killed-for.html
// I would be hard-pressed to find five more links of the same.
 
Yes, Dibankar Roy is a mere ghost- expendable, undefended and unclaimed for in the same India that is often derisively labelled ‘Hindustan’.
 
I am sure that you know several more instances of this pseudo-secularist reverse prejudice than I do, and I apologize for digressing from the topic I initially put forth. I remember reading a maulvi saying ” The battle for Islam will be won in the wombs of women”. While I will never endorse or advocate such an idiotic premise for Hinduism, and am more interested in the minds of our youngsters, isn’t it merely fair to ask:
 
 
“Shouldn’t our children’s minds be enriched and given a basic knowledge of Hinduism during religious studies periods in our classrooms? Shouldn’t they be given atleast a basic outline of the vastness and magnificence of Santana Dharma and Karma Yoga? If the minorities can and do teach their own religious texts and comparative religion to their young ones in classrooms throughout the length and breadth of India(notwithstanding in their own government-aided religious institutions outside of school education), shouldn’t we atleast make an effort to enlighten our

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